David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street is reviewed as a loud, uneven dinosaur thriller that imitates 1980s Amblin and Spielberg-style family adventures without finding a clear identity of its own. The critic considers it mindlessly entertaining in places, with intentional and accidental laughs, but sees its reliance on digital creatures and nostalgic references as less effective than Mitchell’s practical-effects horror work in It Follows.

Set during a 1982 suburban block party, the film follows frustrated mother Denise Platt, played by Anne Hathaway, and her unemployed husband Greg, played by Ewan McGregor, as their family faces dinosaur chaos. Their children include astronomy enthusiast Audrey and anxious younger brother Brian, whose group of friends and bike-riding scenes are described as familiar adventure-film shorthand; the PG-13 film runs 100 minutes and opens on 14 August.